Tag Archive | soup

Just to get things started: a reminder. Given the “lights cancer action” theme of my blog, every blog title is an actual movie term or title. So, yes, this is actually a movie. 🙂

And, as you can guess, our topic is tofu!

I have indicated several times in the past that I have completely avoided soy since forever, but even more so since my diagnosis. There was so much debate as to whether tofu was healthy for a breast cancer survivor of an estrogen positive tumor, it wasn’t worth the risk. I changed my mind after reading Dr. Greger’s “How Not To Die”. The chapter on breast cancer, and his supporting research, convinced me that soy is actual beneficial.

I read that book months and months ago, but, despite giving myself the green light, I remained intimidated by tofu. That is until this week! I finally braved purchasing and cooking with it.

I have my Scranton Beets group to thank for getting me over my hurdle. I tried this yummy dessert two weekends ago and loved it SO much that I made it for a party I attended this past weekend.

Put all ingredients (except the bananas) in your food processor and blend until very smooth. Layer the banana slices with the pudding and chill it before serving. (For a bigger group, double the recipe.)

Inquiring minds might want to know: It’s called a coupe’ because the original recipe instructions suggested that this dessert be served in stemmed wineglasses or some other individual serving cup. I had to Google coupe’, which means “a shallow glass or glass dish, typically with a stem, in which desserts or champagne are served.”

The dessert was a hit at the party for vegans and non-vegans alike!

After this, I was feeling quite brave and moved on to a dish with firm tofu. Purchasing the tofu wasn’t as overwhelming as I thought it would be. It was in a refrigerator in the health food section and was clearly labeled “silken” and “firm”. 🙂

Tonight’s recipe was, again, from my go-to book “Isa Does It”: Shroomy Hot & Sour Soup. It was pretty easy to make and was absolutely delicious! The fact that my 15-year-old ate FOUR bowls will give you some indication of just how good it was. The tofu was tasty and the texture didn’t freak me out.

I plan to continue experimenting with more tofu recipes and, in fact, will be attending a “tofu 101” class offered by our Scranton Beets leader, Jean Hayes. If any local peeps are interested in attending, you can check out the Scranton Beets Facebook page and sign up for Tofu Demystified on Sunday, February 26th, 2-4:00 pm.

We’ve been enjoying a lot of new recipes this past week, along with some oldies but goodies:

New: “From Oh She Glows Every Day”, Fusilli Lentil Mushroom Bolognese. This was a tasty dish, and I would make it again, although I found it to be similar to Isa’s Lentil-Roni, which is a little easier to make, with fewer ingredients.

Old: From “Isa Does It”, Dilly Stew with Dumplings. Ethan really loves this one, especially the dumplings. I make 1 1/2 batches of those which gives us enough for dinner plus leftovers, and yet they still fit in the pot for steaming. I’m not a fan of rosemary, so I do use dill or thyme instead of the rosemary in the dumplings. Honestly, you probably don’t need anything additional in them.

New: From “OneGreenPlanet.org”, Vegan Crab Cakes and French Fries. I’ve done the crab cakes just baked, and they are fine that way, just a bit drier. They are, obviously, better fried, but then you get all the fat. My edits: I don’t cook my own garbanzo beans; I use 2 cans. Rather than grinding up my crackers, I use panko or bread crumbs. And I’ve never had luck finding dulse flakes, so I substitute Old Bay.

For the fries… I have been using my new air fryer (a Christmas gift from my hubby). I’m getting better as it as I use it more, but the fries were quite delicious and Ethan asked for them more often. The instructions say to toss the potatoes in oil, which I do NOT do, and it’s actually not necessary at all. I think the intent is to keep them from sticking (the potato starch can make them stick together). I have found the trick is to dry the potatoes off well before starting, and to mix the potatoes periodically during baking.

Old: From “Isa Does It”, Wild Rice Soup with Seitan Strips. I think this soup is delicious, as does the family. It’s tough finding Isa’s recipes online, so this link is a modification of the original. What’s missing is the Seitan strips. While you could make the soup without the seitan, and really not miss it, I do find it adds a little something. I simply cut the strips and fry in a non-stick pan until browned – then just throw in the soup.

New: I have to say that “Isa Does It” probably IS my favorite cookbook. Tonight we tried her Chipotle Oyster Mushroom Tacos and they were fabulous. Definitely one of my new favorites. Ethan and David both really enjoyed them also. I loved the texture of the oyster mushrooms. If you don’t like mushrooms because of mushy texture, these might be the ones to try, as they stayed pretty firm after cooking. This one definitely goes into the rotation!

Two more Isa recipes on tap for the rest of the week: New: Lentil Quinoa Stew and Old: White Wine Risotto! Yum! I highly recommend this particular book for purchase. It’s become well-worn from much use.

After spending the last five hours in the kitchen, it seems an appropriate post to talk about some of the latest recipes I’ve tried.

Since we have a three day weekend (yea!), I pre-made the Oh She Glows “Maple-Cinnamon Apple & Pear Baked Oatmeal”. We’ll have that for breakfast tomorrow morning, plus it will give me some leftovers for Ethan’s breakfast for the week.

Today, I also made the Oh She Glows “Our Favorite Veggie Burger”. This took some prep work (grating carrots, chopping onions and cilantro, mashing black beans), but overall wasn’t too time-consuming. I served these on whole grain rolls with grey poupon mustard. You can add cheese, if desired, and all the usual burger toppings. David and I enjoyed these burgers, but Ethan wasn’t a huge fan. He doesn’t care for “seeds” (sunflower) or onions… He did eat most of it, but the dog enjoyed the remainder. The batch made 8, so we have some for lunch tomorrow. (Won’t Ethan be happy?)

With the burgers, I made a new recipe for “French fries“. With no oil. The trick is to partially boil the potatoes first, and then bake with some seasonings. Everyone enjoyed these super healthy “fries”! I might mix up the seasonings a bit next time (a little less paprika, a little more kick).

Last week, I also made three new recipes:

Smoky Lentil Soup was a recipe I found on the blog, Plant Based Christian. This was a yummy soup, and the best part was the simplicity of preparation. Eight ingredients (if you count the water), thrown into my Instant Pot. Turn on for 15 minutes. It counted get any easier.

Oh She Glows “Indian Lentil-Cauliflower Soup“. This was a big hit… except for the fact that David doesn’t like sweet potatoes. I didn’t think they were too strong/sweet based on the way they cooked in the recipe, but he noticed. Ethan is a fan of curry and I loved everything in this recipe: red lentils (my favorite kind), cauliflower, spinach, fresh ginger…).

Oh She Glows “Tex Mex Casserole“. Everyone loved this one! No complaints and definitely something to add to the rotation. This dish has loads of vegetables and it’s the first time I tried out some vegan cheese (Daiya). Melted within the dish, you would never even know. I opted for spinach over kale, as always.

I also made the vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Torte that we all love. I took this to work once to rave reviews by everyone! As a reminder, I replaced the tofu with coconut milk vanilla yogurt. I think I’ll go have some now… 🙂